Elkins, Kristi

Abstract Abstract 3836 Poster Board III-772 Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), potent cytotoxic drugs linked to antibodies via specialized chemical linkers, provide a means to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy by targeting the drug to neoplastic cells while reducing side effects. Target selection is a key component to the success of an ADC. In addition to expression on the tumor, the target should have limited expression on normal tissues. The most prevalent and best-studied surface antigens on multiple myeloma (MM) cells, CD138, CD38, CD72, and CD56, all have relatively broad expression patterns that may lead to target-dependent toxicities with ADCs. We have previously shown that FcRL5/FcRH5/IRTA2 is expressed only on B-cells and plasma cells. Here we show that FcRL5 is expressed on the surface of MM cells from 85% of patients and thus could be a target for antibody and ADC treatments of MM. As experience in humans with anti-CD20 antibodies suggests that depletion of B-cells does not present a major safety issue, FcRL5 appears to have an excellent expression pattern as an ADC target for MM. Internalization of target antigens is known to increase the efficacy of ADCs and we found that FcRL5 is internalized upon antibody binding, an ideal trait. We made two different ADCs consisting of anti-FcRL5 antibodies 1) conjugated through cysteines to monomethylauristatin E (MMAE) by a maleimidocaproyl-valine-citrulline-p-aminobenzyloxycarbonyl (MC-vcPAB) linker that is designed to be cleaved by cathepsins (Anti-FcRL5-MC-vcPAB-MMAE); and 2) conjugated via lysines to the maytansinoid DM4 through a disulified linker designed to be cleaved by reducing conditions (anti-FcRL5-SPDB-DM4). These ADCs were tested for cell killing in vitro and in xenograft studies using OPM2 cells stably expressing FcRL5. While unconjugated anti-FcRH5 and control ADCs were not effective, anti-FcRL5-MC-vcPAB-MMAE and anti-FcRL5-SPDB-DM4 were effective at killing this MM cell line both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the anti-FcRL5-SPDB-DM4 conjugate was effective in a SCID-rabbit bone model of MM using the LD cell line. These data suggest that FcRL5 ADCs could be an effective treatment for MM. Disclosures: Polson: Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Zheng:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Elkins:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Lau:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Go:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Scales:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Yu:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Chesi:Genentech, Inc.: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding. Bergsagel:Genentech, Inc.: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding. Ebens:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.

Abstract Abstract 2721 Poster Board II-697 The role of the CD40 pathway in B-cell cancers is rather enigmatic due to having polar opposite roles in tumor biology. Stimulation of the CD40 receptor can reduce cell viability of NHL cell lines and xenograft tumor models, whereas, in sharp contrast, constitutive CD40 stimulation can actually promote proliferation of NHL cell lines, as well as drive lymphomagenesis and transformation of primary B-cells. Therefore, targeting the CD40 pathway has been challenging due to a knowledge gap in understanding the factors that may dictate a pro- or anti-tumor role. To address this directly, we employed a large panel of NHL cell lines and xenografts models to simulate a patient population and to define the molecular parameters to test in the context of clinical trials. Using baseline gene expression profiling, we found that the in vitro activity of an antibody that stimulates the CD40 pathway, Dacetuzumab (SGN-40), correlated strikingly with a transcriptional profile that was representative of an inactive CD40 pathway. Resistant cells, on the other hand, displayed a transcriptional profile indicative of an activated CD40 pathway. Consistent with these observations, constitutive phosphorylation of ERK, a node downstream of CD40 signaling, was present predominantly in cell lines that were resistant to Dacetuzumab. Fifteen genes, based on their association with in vitro activity and their biology as components of the CD40 network, were selected as a classifier from these pre-clinical data and independently tested in a panel of cell lines and xenografts models. Testing the selected gene classifier by qRT-PCR from baseline fixed tumor tissue of 39 patients treated with Dacetuzumab in phase I and II clinical trials revealed the ability to predict sensitivity in patients, as determined by tumor shrinkage >10%, with an overall accuracy of 80%. Consistent with the observed tumor shrinkage, the classifier positive, predicted to respond to Dacetuzumab, patients also exhibited a prolonged progression free survival (PFS) compared to classifier negative patients, predicted not to respond to Dacetuzumab (HR = 0.23, p = 0.001). Finally, using a novel microarray approach to genome-wide expression profiling on fixed tumor tissue revealed that CD40 pathway activation was indeed an important predictor of response. Overall, these data suggest that sensitivity to Dacetuzumab can be predicted by pre-determining the CD40 pathway activation status of tumors. Disclosures: Dornan: Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Burington:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Yue:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Shi:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Advani:Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding. Yu:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Lau:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Yu:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. De Vos:Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding. Forero-Torres:Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding. Modrusan:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Koeppen:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Yang:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Du:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Elkins:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Polson:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Offringa:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Whiting:Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Ebens:Genentech, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership.

A 15-gene expression signature predicts whether a patient with diffuse large B cell lymphoma will respond to dacetuzumab, a therapeutic antibody.